Eloping in Hawaii during a Pandemic

The backstory.

Growing up as a young girl, I often pictured what my wedding would look like. Visions of flowers and lace danced in my head as a daydreamed about how that day would unfold and who might be standing beside me. Fast forward several years and kissing a few too many frogs, I met Will while we were both working in the ER in Nashville. After getting engaged in October of 2019, I finally had the guy to fulfill those empty daydreams. We began the planning process for a traditional, big wedding, mostly because I held the notion that it’s just what you do, particularly in the South. We quickly began to realize we were way over our heads with this planning thing. I guess I would call myself a bit of a type A personality, but planning and stressing about so many things that had nothing to do with the ultimate purpose of a wedding felt like a disservice to ourselves. It didn’t help that I am incredibly indecisive and here I was having to make a million little decisions (which are always the worst, in my opinion). 

Screw It, Let’s Elope.

At the time, I kept my frustrations at bay as we hunted for a venue. And then came COVID. As a healthcare worker, COVID has made this year challenging for so many reasons. But I have to admit that it did bring us the freedom to get married in a way that was authentic to us, and I will be forever grateful for that. With a global pandemic raging, we didn’t feel great about hosting a 200+ person wedding. As we started to consider alternative options, the idea of eloping grew more and more appealing. On nights where 2am hit and night shift began to calm down, I found myself googling “most beautiful places to elope.” One destination continued to stick with me: Hawaii; a place I had never traveled to but always wanted to. The pictures were stunning, like take your breath away stunning. I was already eyeing the photographers who took the majority of the pictures I was swooning over, Aloha Zoe Photography.

I was so pumped about the idea of combining getting married with my favorite thing in the world, travel. Luckily, from the time I met Will we instantly connected over our love for travel and began taking trips together fairly soon thereafter. But I knew eloping was a big decision, and I only hoped he would be just as excited about this idea as I was. As it turns out, we were on the same page even more than I had anticipated. We both took a big sigh of relief. What had once felt like a production for everyone else, now felt like an exciting celebration that was true to us. While in the midst of grad school, I did my best to coordinate the details of our elopement from afar. By far the best decision we made was working with Ryan and Corinne of Aloha Zoe Photography. When travel restrictions forced us to change our original date, they were so flexible and accommodating, and put all of our worries to rest. Through their recommendations, we found the rest of our vendors who would help complete the final touches for our big day. 

Getting to Hawaii.

As the wedding grew closer, I’ll be honest, it still didn’t feel real. I remember telling so many people that if we could just get there I would feel so much better! At the time, Hawaii required that each person was to have a negative PCR COVID test within 72 hours of their last departing flight. The test also had to be performed by one of the “trusted testing partners” specified on their website. Beyond ensuring that we had all the necessary documentation for our COVID tests (and that they did, in fact, come back negative), there was one other thing I couldn’t stop thinking about: getting my wedding dress to Hawaii.

The night before we left, I tried (and failed) to stuff my massive dress into a carry on suitcase. I should have known better, I know. In a panic, I called American Airlines hoping for some guidance. The sweetest woman calmed my fears and assured me that the easiest way to transport my dress would be taking it in a garment bag as my carry on. This was always going to be my back up solution, but there was no guarantee that closet space would be available on the plane. Nevertheless, I had no other option, I would carry it on and hope for the best. 

As it turns out, all of the things I had stressed over ended up being non-issues. The flight attendants were so helpful and there was closet space for my dress on both planes, even the small one from Nashville to Dallas! We also had everything we needed to bypass the 10 day quarantine once we landed in Maui. Thankfully, we were able to have a few close friends and family join us, and having them by our sides meant the world to us. When all of our guests landed in Maui without any problems, we felt like a huge weight had been lifted off our shoulders-this was actually happening! After a year and a few months of being engaged, we were finally getting married where we wanted, the way we wanted.

Let’s Get Hitched.

We had a few days to get settled and explore the island before we got married. We couldn’t get over the sunny skies, mountain scenery, lush trees, and beautiful beaches. This was all quite different than the gray, snowy weather we left in Nashville. I’ve included all our favorite stops on our trip in my Maui travel guide Maui travel guide Maui travel guide, so head on over for recommendations for all things Maui! Looking back, I probably should’ve been a little more stressed on the day of our wedding. The officiant we booked for our wedding months before went AWOL and after reaching out to him in every way possible, he remained radio silent. This put us scrambling to find an officiant on the morning of our wedding. Like I said, I probably should’ve been more stressed than I actually was. Somehow I knew things would work out exactly how they were meant to be. Sure enough, after calling half the island of Maui, Ryan and Corinne found us an officiant who ended up being absolutely incredible, and who made our ceremony so unique and meaningful. 

We went to three different epic locations on our wedding day; Will and I had our first look at the first location, ceremony at the second, and ended the day by jumping in the water at our final location. The day was an adventure from start to finish, and I wouldn’t change a single thing. So here’s my advice to those interested in eloping-DO IT! If it’s something you’re seriously considering, there’s a reason why. There are so many ways to personalize your day and incorporate friends and family, whether it be physically or from afar. At the end of the day, your wedding is about the two of you, and you’ll never regret having a celebration that remains true to you.